Daily group coupons go mainstream

A recent Research Brief newsletter from Mediapost suggests that daily deal coupons are finding a special place in the email in-boxes of willing participants.  Click here to see the story.

Implications:   It’s not just about the savings; daily deal coupon companies (Groupon, Living Social, etc.) are helping drive product trial.  Recently, I was told by a young woman that she had purchased a skydiving package at a reduced rate; she explained that, “I really wasn’t shopping for a parachute experience when I opened my email this morning!  I just couldn’t resist!”

Daily deals represent that small indulgence that people had denied themselves throughout the recession.  Of course, there are hundreds of different ways to deliver this message of savings to consumers… but you might consider whether—beyond the lost-leader offering—is there a way you can convert that product/service trial into long-term customers who are willing to pay at a more profitable rate?

Mike Anderson, for the Elm Street Economics consumer trends blog. A service of The Center for Sales Strategy, Inc.

Home builders still waiting for their recovery

A recent story from the New York Times suggests that developers, homebuilders and related trades are still waiting for their economic recovery to take hold. Click here to see the article in full.

Implications:   I’ve heard testimony from many small contractors who turned away from the homebuilding business during the recession, and put their focus on home improvement and remodeling work to make ends meet until their more sizable and preferred projects start rolling again.  According to this story, it might be a while before that happens, at least in most parts of the country.

As an alternative to building their new dream home, will consumers continue to seek ways of making their current residence the home of their dreams?  From home theatres to home furnishings, from exotic landscaping to exquisite kitchen makeovers, there is ample evidence that people now look at their homes more as a place to live, rather than seeing it as a property to flip every few years.

Meanwhile, as this NY Times story indicates, those developers who are succeeding are going to very creative lengths to make it happen.  From elaborate rebates to free cars with the purchase of a house… the new era of sales promotions and advertising tactics make this a fascinating category to watch.

Mike Anderson, for the Elm Street Economics consumer trends blog. A service of The Center for Sales Strategy, Inc.

From a guide wire to a noose: The connected society is on information overload

We’ve been hearing about the 24/7 news cycle for years… that sense that on any typical news day—even more so when a major world event is happening—if we tune away from the news for even a few moments, we might miss something critically important.

Fast forward to 2011:  The “news” we absorb isn’t just coming from a newspaper or major network… it’s coming from our network, via laptops, smartphones and iPads.  Today’s Research Brief featured a story about information overload in the wireless age.  Click here to read it.  A PDF of the Digital Lifestyle survey on which the article was based is available by clicking here (if you’re willing to give up your name and email address).

Implications:   Even if you read the article or white paper, reconsider the extent to which consumers are receiving messages.  33% of survey participants said they even check their device in the middle of the night.  And 64.2% of respondents said the torrent of information they are receiving has gone up by 50% compared to one year ago.

Consider the traffic your messages have to compete with.

Then, consider whether your marketing message has the relevance to win.

Mike Anderson, for the Elm Street Economics consumer trends blog. A service of The Center for Sales Strategy, Inc.

Independent healthcare is not feeling well

Last week, I came across an important article about the diminishing number of private-practice physicians in the U.S.  The story cited the costs involved—in both dollars and effort—when a doctor is trying to decide between opening a private practice or going to work for a large health-management organization.  Click here to see the story, which appeared in the New York Times.

Implications:   In case you hadn’t noticed, personal healthcare is becoming less personal.  If your doctor knows who you are and a little bit about you without looking at your chart, you are likely to be the exception to the rule. 

This story offers a preview of the impact that is likely to follow cuts to Medicare and private-sector health benefits (which seem to be the trend):  Hospitals and clinics will place increasing importance on operational efficiencies.  More health centers will use a team approach to treatments and scheduling… and those “between the lines” issues that cannot be found on a medical chart will increasingly be managed by the patient, herself/himself.

Does your company, product or service empower the consumer to take charge of their own wellness?  I’m thinking about things like a heart healthy menu at the restaurant or wholesome offerings at the grocery store… or any aspect of what you sell that contributes to physical fitness and overall wellness.  In the coming years, these product/service attributes are likely to be more and more valued by the consumer… as they rediscover an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

NOTE:  Another NY Times story, recently, exposed the nature of the sales process used by some pharmaceutical and health device companies.  Click here to read that story, as this issue, too, may influence consumers to ask questions and take action.

Mike Anderson, for the Elm Street Economics consumer trends blog. A service of The Center for Sales Strategy, Inc.

UPDATE: Making it easy to be green.

Last week, I offered a posting about the importance of making an environmentally-friendly product or service easy to understand.  [See:  Earth Day, 4/22/11.]  

In today’s Marketing Daily, there was a story about a Whole Foods initiative to evaluate—and communicate—the extent to which various cleaning products are, in fact, green.  (Click here to see that story.)

Mike Anderson, for the Elm Street Economics consumer trends blog. A service of The Center for Sales Strategy, Inc.

One size does not fit all

Today’s New York Times features a story about sizing in the apparel industry.  There is no real standardized practice between designers or retailers now, but a move is afoot to change that.  Click here to read the story.

Implications:   My take-away on this story is focused on consumer frustration while clothes shopping.  If you can be a size ten in one line, but go to another store and wear a size 000, one must wonder why this issue has not been addressed before.  (And one might now better understand why many women pick a favorite designer or brand in clothing, and then tend to stick with it.) 

Mike Anderson, for the Elm Street Economics consumer trends blog. A service of The Center for Sales Strategy, Inc.

Do-it-yourselfers get by with a little help from their friends

Over the weekend, there was an interesting story in the New York Times about the extent to which people are going online for guidance that was not provided by their instruction manual.  Click here to see it.

Implications:   My first thought here was to be proactive… if consumers prefer to go online for instructions (favoring a how-to video over the complicated written directions), why not provide it? 

Have your customers gone “rogue” to find information not provided (or not clearly explained) by your product’s owners manual?  It seems to me that, as they seek ideas about how to use/own your product, consumers are at extreme risk of hearing about other products and alternatives.  Worse yet, their search for solutions might lead them to a competitor’s website.

Better you control the content than someone else… especially if that someone else is a competitor.

Mike Anderson, for the Elm Street Economics consumer trends blog. A service of The Center for Sales Strategy, Inc.

The grocery store at your door

Colleague Matt Sunshine passed along this story from his USA Today iPad app:  It explains that Walmart is testing home delivery of groceries in San Jose.  Click to link.

Implications:   Much coverage has been given to the idea that people sacrificed convenience for the sake of financial savings in response to the recession.  But it would be a mistake to assume that time saves became less important.

Many people are working twice as hard for the same or smaller household income, when compared to three or four years ago.  Time Sensitivity is still pervasive, and likely to compete with things like inflation and the price of gasoline on their list of important concerns as consumers set their purchase priorities.  

Since this blog was started, we have focused intensely on the matter of Time Sensitivity.  If you’d like to review other postings on the topic, click here.

Mike Anderson, for the Elm Street Economics consumer trends blog. A service of The Center for Sales Strategy, Inc.

"Me, too!" versus iPad: Why Apple wins.

Former colleague and continuing friend Todd Storch sent me this story from The Business Insider (click to link).  It offers some great thinking about why, even in a stressed economy, so many people will pay a premium for Apple’s original.

Implications:   The iPad is not just a device, it is also a facilitator.  It helps the user accomplish… catching up on the news, playing a game, reading a book, using an app.  And contrary to popular convention, it does it without adding more bells and whistles; their current campaign explains that the iPad is what happens “when technology gets out of the way.”  (See their current ad in the video box below.)

Could your company benefit from some innovation?  Instead of thinking about what to add, ask whether your offering might be improved by taking something away.  Being intuitive—anticipating what the consumer wants—is the path to profitable innovation.  And it’s what can keep any company, product or service from being seen as a commodity.

Mike Anderson, for the Elm Street Economics consumer trends blog. A service of The Center for Sales Strategy, Inc.

UPDATE: The green gap

To follow-up on the Earth Day posting from earlier this morning (immediately below), I’ll share this article from Marketing Daily, which suggests that “the green gap” is widening (click to link).    The story is based on a report called Mainstream Green from Ogilvy, which you can read by clicking here.  The green gap generally refers to the distance between people’s belief or opinion about environmental issues, and their willingness to act on those beliefs.

Implications:   Perhaps your green marketing message should focus less on getting people to believe, and more on the ways you make it easy to act.

Mike Anderson, for the Elm Street Economics consumer trends blog. A service of The Center for Sales Strategy, Inc.

Happy Earth Day: How are your customers celebrating?

Consumers love an environmentally-friendly offer.  But with a nasty recession very fresh in their memories (and with gasoline at roughly $4 per gallon), the cost of going “green” is making consumers feel conflicted.  That’s the essence of this story from today’s New York Times (click to link).

Implications:   Some interesting points are made by this story.  One of them, which I wish could have been explored further:  Companies (like Proctor and Gamble) who simply layered-on an additional “green” product offering (like Green Works) were not having as much success as those niche players whose product line is “green.”  Could that be because—just like consumers—corporations cut back during the recession, spending less to market their environmental upstarts than they did on their more mature, core product line?  While that was happening, could it be that those companies who have only an environmental story tend to stay true to course, and tell that story better?

But that wasn’t the only take-away from the NY Times article.

As an avid, hands-on conservationist, I love it when companies employ sustainable practices or launch eco-friendly products.  But passion, alone, is not enough; while any of us would love to save the planet, we would also like to make ends meet until the next paycheck comes in.  Sometimes, needs that are urgent displace matters of importance. 

It can be hard for the consumer to justify paying a premium when the product rationale can seem more ethereal than tangible.  A high-mileage car is saving the planet because it uses less gas, but it also saves the consumer money on their commute; they can see, feel and understand the environmental benefit.  For the typical consumer, connecting the dots on a specially formulated cleaning product might not be so easy. 

The bar has been raised since the first Earth Day was celebrated.  For as long as household economies are feeling strained, green products will have to provide more than the “novelty” of being environmentally friendly.  They will also have to be competitive in terms of dollar-for-dollar value delivered, and their environmental benefit must be made easier for the consumer to understand and appreciate.

Mike Anderson, for the Elm Street Economics consumer trends blog. A service of The Center for Sales Strategy, Inc.

The national mood could use a boost. Can you provide one?

Last night on the CBS News, I caught a story about a CBS/New York Times poll on how voters (consumers) feel about the state of the nation and the direction of its leadership.  It was quite telling, not just because of the dramatic numbers that came from the survey, but also because of the descriptive remarks (as brief as they were) from the real people featured in the story.  Watch the video below (commercial pre-roll required) or visit CBS.

Implications:   The two themes that bubbled up in this story are 1) frustration, and 2) the sense that leaders in Congress and the White House "don’t understand what’s important to me."  It appears that a majority of voters (consumers) think the people they hired during the last pair of elections lack empathy… the ability to consider a situation from someone else’ point of view.

Think about your company, product or service.  When people walk into your store, dealership or lobby… does their experience begin to suggest that you know what their priorities are, when considering this purchase?  Does your product/service provide some relief from the long, hard hours that consumers are working these days?  Does your website provide a means of planning their shopping visit, so that they don’t have to make additional, unnecessary trips to your store when gas prices are climbing?

Think about how your consumer sees their need and your business or product.  That is simple empathy… and people are hungry for it.

Mike Anderson, for the Elm Street Economics consumer trends blog. A service of The Center for Sales Strategy, Inc.